Mail-bag catcher.



No. 897,265. PATENTED SEPT.1,'1908.

P. F. BERGMAN & H. W. GRIMES.

MAIL BAG GATGHER. I

APPLICATION FILED MAR.23, 1908.

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No. 897,265. PATENTVED SEPT. 1,1908.

P. F. BERGMAN & H. W. GRIMES.

MAIL BAG GATGH'ER.

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UNITED STATES PATENT ()FFICE.

PETER F. BERGMAN AND HARRY W. GRIMES, OF ST. PAUL, MINNESOTA.

MAIL-BAG CATCI-IER.

Application filed March 23, 1908.

T 0 all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, PETER F. BERGMAN and HARRY W. GRIMES, citizens of the United States, residing at St. Paul, in the county of Ramsey and State of Minnesota, have invented a new and useful Mail-Bag Catcher, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to mail-bag catchers of the kind by which a moving mail car catches and receives mail bags at stations Where the train does not stop; and the object is to provide a very efficient and reliable de vice of said kind. 4

In the accompanying drawings,Figure'1 is a top view of a mail car with roof removed, shown on a portion of a railway track and about to pick up a mail bag by our new device. Fig. 2 is a side elevation of Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a sectional view on the line aa in Fig. 1. Fig. 4 is an end elevation of the table or stand holding the mail bag in Fig. 2. Fig. 5 is a longitudinal vertical section through a mail car provided with our mail catching de vice. Fig. 6 is a top view of the post 4 in Fig. 4. Fig. 7 is a vertical central cross sec tion of the stand that holds the bag to be caught. Fig. 8 is a section on the line b?) in Fig. 5.

Referring to the drawing by reference numerals, 1 designates a railway track on which a mail car 2 is moving at any rate of speed.

At the proper distance from the track is fixed on the ground or on a couple of extended ties 3, a stand composed of a post 4 having a flat head 5 with two opposite notches 6, which may be in the very edge of the head or in lugs 7 projecting from its under side, as in Fig. 6. In the top of said head and post is a hole 8 in which is journaled a stem 9 having an annular groove 10 engaged by a screw 11, by which the stem is held in place. The top of the stem is provided with a plate 12 se cured by screws 13 to the underside of a table 14 resting on the head 5 and having in its upper side a number of parallel, longitudinal grooves 15 of which two are shown in the present illustrations.

To one end of the table 14 is hinged at 16 a plate 17, which by springs 18 is normally held in an upright position projecting above the table, but is provided with notches 19 cor responding to the ends of the grooves 15 in the table. Underneath one end of the table is pivotally mounted a key lever 20, which is pressed by a spring 21 into either one of the notches 6 in the head of the post, whereby Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Sept. 1, 1908.

Serial No. 422,754.

the table may be reversed and held in readiness for trains moving in either direction on the track and whose mail car is provided at both sideswith a door and the following described device mounted therein.

The door opening 22 is normally closed by the usual door 23, sliding in guides 24, 25, at the inner side of the wall 26 of the car. Outside of said door is journaled a rock-shaft 27 on which is fixed an outwardly foldable catching scoop 28, having at its outer edge an upstanding guard 28 and at its rear edge an upstanding guarding board 28 for retaining on the scoop the mail bag, which is placed as indicated by dotted lines 29 upon the table and is guided upon the scoop by inclined fingers 30 provided at the front edge of the scoop.

From the above description it will be understood that when the scoop occupies a horizontal position and the train moves forward the scoop picks up or receives the mail bag 29 by running under it and by having the bag resisted by the plate 17, until the bag is fully upon the scoop, when the scoop itself pushes the plate 17 into an inclined position and passes over it, whereupon the plate is returned to its upright position by the spring 18.

The rock shaft 27 is at one end provided with a rocker arm or lever 31, (best shown in Fig. 8) which may be engaged by either one of the notches 32, 33 of a latch lever 34 pivoted at 35 to the wall of the car and adapted to hold by its said notches the lever 31 alternately with the scoop in a horizontal position and in an upwardly folded position, both of which positions are shown in Fig. 3, where it will also be observed that the guard 28 is beveled so as' not to interfere with the moving of the sliding door 23 when the scoop is in the upper or closed position.

34 is a spring tending to hold the latch lever normally engaged.

If a snow storm or other storm is blowing the sliding door may be kept closed until the mail bag is on the scoop .when the sliding door may be opened only long enough to throw the mail bag into the car by a downward movement of the lever or foot-lever 31, and by applying the latch lever 34, the scoop will remain raised until lowered by the attendant in the car as another station is approached.

The mail cars are supposed to be reversed at both ends of the road section traversed and hence a single scoop at one side the car will catch the mail from a table at one side the road when going and from a table at the other side the road when returning.

If there are no means for turning the mail car end for end at each end of the road, then the scoops at each side of the car need only to be reversely arranged; that is, the fingers 30 would point toward a different end of the car at each side thereof and the table 14 likewise arranged reversely one at each side of the track.

The scoop may, if so desired, be made in skeleton form and the levers 3 1, 34 and many other parts may be much modified and varied in form without diverging from the scope and spirit of the invention.

Having thus described our invention, what we claim is 1. A mail catcher comprising a table-like stand adapted to be fixed near the track of the road for holding the mail bag and having in its top parallel grooves and at one end a hinged spring-pressed normally upright plate with notches in its upper edge registering with the grooves in the table a scoop adapted to be carried by and projecting horizontally from the side of the mail car, said scoop having inclined fingers adapted to move through the grooves in the table and thus insure the guiding of the mail bag into the scoop.

2. A mail catcher comprising a table-like stand adapted to be fixed near the track of the road for holding the mail bag and having in its top parallel grooves and at one end a hinged spring-pressed normally upright plate with notches in its upper edge registering with the grooves in the table; a scoop adapted to be carried by and projecting horizontally from the side of the mail car, said scoop having inclined fingers adapted to move through the grooves in the table and thus insure the guiding of the mail bag into the scoop, said. grooved top portion of the stand being pivoted to the stand to swing in two opposite directions with its spring-pressed plate and means for latching the table to the stand in both of said directions.

3. A mail catcher comprising a table-like stand adapted to be fixed near the track of the road for holding the mail bag and having in its top parallel grooves and at one end a hinged spring-pressed normally upright plate with notches in its upper edge registering with the grooves in the table; a scoop adapted to be carried by and projecting horizontally from the side of the mail car, said scoop having inclined fingers adapted to move through the grooves in the table and thus insure the guiding of themail bag into the scoop, a rock-shaft journaled horizontally in the lower party of the door opening of the mail car, and having said scoop affixed to it, a rocker arm or lever fixed at one end of the shaft, a latch lever pivoted adjacent thereto and having notches by which to engage the rocker arm and hold the scoop either horizontally out or folded upwardly into the do or opening.

4. A mail catcher comprising a table-like stand adapted to be fixed near the track of the road for holding the mail bag and having in its top "parallel grooves and at one end a hinged spring-pressed normally upright plate with notches in its upper edge registering with the grooves in the table; a scoo adapted to be carried by and projecting horizontally from the side of the mail car, said scoop having inclined fingers adapted to move through the grooves in the table and thus insure the guiding of the mail bag into the scoo a rock-shaft journaled horizontally in the lbwer part of the door opening of the mail car, and having said scoop afiixed to it, a rocker armor lever fixed at one end of the shaft, a latch lever pivoted adjacent thereto and having notches by which to engage the rocker arm and hold the scoop either horizontally out or folded upwardly into the door opening, and a sliding door at the inner side of the door opening, said scoop having its rear side wall or guard beveled so as to admit the folding of the scoop to a more upright po sition against the outerside of the sliding door.

In testimony whereof we aflix our signatures, in presence of two witnesses.

PETER F. BERGMAN. HARRY W. GRIMES. Witnesses:

GEQ F. PRUDHOMME, H. BIELENBERG. 

